History -
A Man, His Scrapbook, and the Marshals Service

When retired Chief Deputy Patrick J. Pyne of the District of Rhode
Island passed away in 1983 at the age of 93, he left behind a personal
scrapbook which is a treasure trove of Marshals Service history and an
insight into the man he was.
The late Chief Deputy Patrick Pyne, District of Rhode
Island, (right) escorts two defendants accused of kidnapping from the
United States Courthouse in Providence, circa 1920 (Photo courtesy of
Providence Journal)

From the time of his initial appointment
as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in 1918 until his
retirement in 1959, Pat maintained a record of his work which reflects the evolution of the Marshals Service in the
20th century. It has been made available by his granddaughter.

One of Pat's duties was to give the formal
cry at opening sessions of federal court, and
he did so with great solemnity attired in a
blue and gold uniform coat. He assumed the
duty in 1921 when Deputy John Haven was
killed in an automobile accident on his way
to serve a summons in Newport. He carried
on the tradition through his final day on the
job.

But Pat was involved in a wide range of duties. Ratification of
the Volstead Act thrust U.S. Marshals into the forefront of enforcing
prohibition. On one occasion he pursued a moonshiner over fences and
through yards and fields before capturing him at gunpoint in a country
store.

He escorted prisoners to the Providence County Jail on the Riverpoint
trolley car and made the trip to the US. Penitentiary in Atlanta some 40
times.

Included in the scrapbook are pictures of Chief Deputy Pyne escorting
convicted racketeers from the U.S. Courthouse in Providence; providing
security for the late U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver (D-Tenn.); receiving
an award from the late U.S. Attorney General J. Howard McCrath, a native
Rhode Islander; and chatting with the late U.S. Senator Theodore Francis
Green (D-R.I.), former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

One of his retirement pictures is with a young law clerk, Bruce M.
Selya, who today is a U.S. District Court Judge in Rhode Island. There
are photos of Pat seizing a ship, opening court, padlocking Oate's
Saloon, arresting an individual accused of selling counterfeit ration
coupons during World War 11, and escorting executives of jewelry firms
to arraignment on charges they filed false affidavits with selective
service boards.

A clipping details Pat's efforts to seize the America's Cup Defender,
Columbia.
At a time when deputies had no tenure, Pat served under eight U.S.
Marshals. An
attempt to remove him in 1933 was thwarted by Judge Ira Lloyd Letts.

A Democrat, Pat survived during terms of three Republican presidents.
When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose William F. Goucher to be
U.S. Marshal,the new appointee dismissed Pat. Judge Letts refused to sign the
payroll unless Pat was rehired. While Pat went off to the New
York-Washington World Series, Marshal Goucher quietly reinstated him.
Judge Letts then signed the payroll.

The era in which Chief Deputy Pyne served was a more slowly paced
time, but law enforcement problems were much the same. He dealt with a steady
stream of thieves, forgers, counterfeiters, and tax evaders. He took many of them
to the half dozen federal prisons then in existence, but most were moved
by train. When he arrived at a prison, he notified the Marshal by mail.

Some of his more colorful clients included a Newport man who
threatened to blow up the Naval torpedo station to show, his admiration of Hider; Joseph
Morelli, described as head of the 'Morelli Gang"; James Lavell, 'Republican boss of the
Blackstone Valley"; a Fall River man convicted of Mann Act violations; and George
'Red" Savage, a reputed racketeer.

At one point in his career, Pat supervised the movement of 127 women
inmates to the Federal Correctional Institution in Alderson, West Virginia. They were
transported 24 at a time in railroad cars. On more than one occasion, Pat was
ordered out into the street to summon citizens at random for jury duty.

Many of the clippings are personal and provide insight into Pat's
life outside the Marshals Service. Fiercely proud of his Irish heritage, he was active
with the Eire Society and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. There are
numerous pictures and stories of those organization's activities and
Pat's participation.

Given equal billing are stories about family births, marriages, and
deaths. There are few Marshals Service personnel who knew Pat Pyne
personally. For most, he is but part of the long history of U.S.
Marshals. In the days before teletypes, photo copiers, NCIC, EPIC, the
Witness Security Program, or Special Operations Group, he carried out
his varied duties as a Chief Deputy. It is on his legacy that the US.
Marshals Service has been built.

His scrapbook provides a concise picture of the service he gave so
willingly to his country, a reflection of USMS development, and a reminder of this
complete man who set an example in both his and personal life.

Pat Pyne left much for all to reflect upon and in his quiet way
taught us all some valuable lessons. He was a true law enforcement pioneer and lives on as
a legend of the Marshals Service in Rhode Island.